Bored....already? Not Me!

Well, it has been over a week at home. It has been a good week. I have biked a bit and played trivia a lot. Fun times.

I took a few pictures today. In one, you can see a butterfly. Now, trying to get a picture of a butterfly is interesting. I tried hard to get it with its wings open, but they do not open their wings for very long. Then each time a car would pass our house it would cause the butterfly to fly up and go to a different flower. Needless to say, I did not get the shot I wanted. I am going to try to get one before the summer is over. The other pictures are of some of my dad's flowers. My favorites are the irises because they are so fragrant. But daisies are nice too.

Today has been kinda slow. I tried to write more on my novel. Unfortunately I only got about four paragraphs written...but it is good because I think I got a better beginning. A good "hook" so to speak. I just wish I would be more motivated to get down to it and write like for hours on end. I cannot sit still that long. I also took a nice long nap. It was nice.

It is kinda muggy here. Muggy means humid. On my bike ride today I thought it was in the 70s. I was off by ten degrees. Luckily for me there was nice winds. For some reason, I am being totally lazy and hate getting on my bike. I hope to get into a routine.

Tomorrow is softball in Wausau. One of the things I really look forward to each week. Hopefully it will not be a blowout like last week! (the other team beat us 25-10) I like more of a competition. The other team probably felt the same way.

Well, that is all I have! Have a great day and be sure to check out my other posts with the fun pictures from the road trip home.

p.s. The other pic besides the flowers and the butterfly is one of a dragonfly. Very cool little insects but also very hard to take pictures of them!

Home Sweet Home!

Well, I survived another road trip from Utah to Wisconsin...with a detour in Las Vegas. It is nice to be home, even though I thought to myself yesterday that I have only been home one day; how could I possibly already be bored! I guess I will have to use "my inner resources" (one of my roommate's terms) in order to keep myself busy and out of trouble this summer. Writing on here is a good activity.

Las Vegas was a blast. It always is. I was able to see my friend Lesley McBain. She is a riot. I also got to meet her boyfriend which was awesome. I like to see my friends dating. I went to an exhibit called "Bodies" which had cadavers and lots of stuff to read about the cadavers to learn about the body. If any of you truly know me, you know that I am way into that kind of stuff. I love how amazing the human body is and how it works so well! Marla wasn't too interested in the exhibit which I understood but was glad she let me ditch her for an hour so I could go!

I showed Marla the strip and the Lions at MGM, we also saw the white tiger at Mirage. It was so hot that we didn't get to see much and we only really had a day. I wish I could have shown Marla more of Vegas. I guess she just has more reason to go again. (No eloping Marla...we want to know about your future wedding!)

Alliance, Nebraska was the next adventure on our road trip. It truly was the adventure! Marla and I always have some weird adventure, like the time we tried to get soda from a machine in Idaho and I wanted Sprite but it gave me Rootbeer and Marla wanted something else but she also got Rootbeer. And then there was the massive storm in Texas and the crazy Southern lady at the hotel that told us it was good that we had already ate because nothing would be open.

This time we tried to stay in Sidney, NE but every single room in the town was booked. Actually, let's say every single DECENT room was booked. It was kinda late and we were tired but really had no choice but to drive to the Days Inn in Alliance. We knew they had a room because we called before driving the two hours. Okay, I take that back MARLA called because sometimes I do not like talking on the phone. She also had to get directions to the Highway that we needed to go to Alliance on(which was actually the road we took to the gas station!) because I would not do it. She picked on me about that. When we got to Alliance two hours later, we saw a Holiday Inn Express right away and decided to go there. We were very glad that we made that decision because it was AWESOME! It was so clean and new and even smelled like My Little Pony (My friend Mary Beth is the only person who would appreciate the My Little Pony expression because we stayed at a nice hotel in Salt Lake and it smelled like those little horses!). The beds were amazing, the pillows even had whether they were firm or soft embroidered into the cases. Even the towels told us they were smart. We lived the good life that night!

The next morning we took in the great tourist destination known as Carhenge. You can learn more about Carhenge at www.carhenge.com. It is so very cool. (Pictures of Carhenge are also on my previous blog, as well as pictures of Hoover Dam and Marla and I in Vegas. Be sure to check them out!)

We then drove to Des Moines, Iowa and spent some time with my brother, Erich and his family. They seem to be doing very well. Erich just got a big shot pilot job and is so excited. Sunday afternoon we headed to Madison, Wisconsin and had dinner with my sister, Andi and her family. It was a crazy house, but if it weren't I would have worried.

I then dropped Marla off at her house in Wausau and then headed to Rhinelander to my parents' house. I have spent the past few days adjusting to summer life. I took a long bike ride yesterday 11 miles, and then did laundry and wrote a bit of my novel. Starting a novel over is hard work. It will be interesting to see it progress though.

It is good to be home with my mom and dad. I am always glad to have the opportunity to spend time with them. My mother and I already went to her favorite spot, The Claridge, and played some trivia(which is one of my favorite things in Rhinelander). I am sure that there will be lots more trivia playing going on in the next few months.

Well, I am off to try to find some softball shoes for my first game tonight. I am excited to play but a little nervous about my ankle still. It gets sore now and again. Hopefully, playing will make it even stronger.

Thanks for reading the world longest blog, and have a great day!

Pictures from Roadtrip!

Pictures: Cars in sculpture at Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska, Me inside the ribs of a dinosaur sculpture at Carhenge, Marla at Hoover Dam, Marla and I at The Rainforest Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada. Obviously, the pictures are in no particular order.
This is the only fault (weird placement of text and pictures) I have found so far with this program....not so bad!

The Last Red Robin Experience...for a while!

Here is the gang at Red Robin. Usually we only go on payday but we also like to get together before I leave for the summer. Man, I love Red Robin....and all of these people in these pictures...I love them too. I am so lucky to have such amazing friends. I always have a hard time leaving them behind for the summer. It is comforting to know that they will all be around when I get back in August, though!

Marla and I got back from Vegas(you will have to excuse Marla's serious look in the picture of her, Sarah and I.( Sarah's in the green shirt!) I think Marla had just partied too much in Vegas and just couldn't be as exciting tonight!)

Las Vegas was fun. I have been a few times and always manage to have a good time. We ate lots of good food, saw the strip, watched the Beligio fountains, saw the lions at MGM Grand, saw the white tiger at the Mirage, and saw Fremont Street. I was disappointed to leave Vegas again without my Elvis sunglasses...I guess I am just not meant to have them. I was also able to visit The Bodies Exhibition. It was interesting to me...of course I loved to see the cadavers in my Anatomy class and I completely understood why Marla wasn't so interested to learn about the body via dead bodies, but it was interesting to me. I learned a lot. I really wanted to be able to bus my students down to Vegas to see it too. It was awesome.

Well, I best get some sleep before driving to Kimball, Nebraska tomorrow. Bring on the road trip! If I don't have a chance to blog, the next time will be from Wisconsin. I am excited. Have a great few days...and enjoy each moment, okay? I just think I need to remind myself and other people to cherish their time here! Later, A

Summer, Here I come! :) Oh yeah...and Vegas too!

Well, the kids made it! A picture of some of our fine graduates from Independence High in Provo, Utah. I love graduation night and really look forward to it every year. Seeing them on there big day is a very big deal. I love it!

The next day we had yearbook signing. It is always a fun occasion too. One kid was even brave enough to write in my yearbook that I was a "Kickass Teacher!" I like that they can be honest with me and feel comfortable with me, that means I am doing my job. Yearbook signing was bitter sweet this year because my friend, Michelle, is not going to teach at IHS anymore. She is having a baby boy in August and is going to be a mom(The other picture is of her and I). I am way excited for her, but will miss her a lot. I guess in life we have to always have goodbyes along with our hellos. Makes life interesting.

I am about to start my drive to Las Vegas to pick up my friend, Marla. We are going to spend a few days in Vegas and see the sights. I am not excited about the drive but I am sure Marla and I will have a blast together in Vegas! We are staying at the Tropicana in a Garden Room. Sounds exotic...we figured we won't be seeing too much of the room so we got the best deal. I love my road trips with Marla and hanging out in Vegas will be fun. All I know is that I have to find the Elvis sunglasses I didn't buy the last time I was in Vegas.

I better get on the road so Marla doesn't have to be stranded at the airport. Hopefully, I will be able to blog here and there along the trip. So, keep checking in! You all rock...you my loyal readers that is! :)

Viva Las Vegas.
Koehne Out!